No.34 Milestone Year for Waste Management Project

(Inagi Newsletter August 15, 2014 issue)

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tamagawa Sanitation Association and the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Yatosawa Disposal Site.
The Tamagawa Sanitation Association was established in September 1963 by the towns of Komae and Tama for waste incineration processing, and was renamed the Tamagawa Sanitation Association when Inagi Town joined in August of the following year.
In August 1967, Inagi Town and Tama Town established the "Inagi-Tama Sanitation Association" for sewage treatment, and in April 1971, Komae Town joined, leading to the renaming of the association to "Inagi-Tama-Komae Sanitation Association." As a result, since the constituent organizations of both associations for waste incineration and sewage treatment became the same, the two associations merged to form the new "Tamagawa Sanitation Association."
Subsequently, in March 1993, Tama City withdrew due to the construction of a new factory within the Tama New Town area. In April of the same year, Fuchu City partially joined (the area south of Koshu Kaido), and in April 1998, the current new factory began operations. In April 1999, Kunitachi City joined, and in April 2007, Fuchu City fully joined (the area north of Koshu Kaido), leading to the current situation.
On the other hand, the incineration ash generated from waste incineration is processed by the Tokyo Tama Wide Area Resource Recycling Association, which consists of 25 cities and 1 town in the Tama area, and Inagi City is also a member.
Until around the early 1950s, garbage in the Tama area was processed by pig farmers who had a demand for organic waste, and incineration ash was buried in each respective city area. However, after the period of rapid economic growth, the rapid increase in population and individual consumption led to a sharp rise in waste, making it difficult for each city to process it properly.
In July 1973, the "Waste Final Disposal Measures Council" was organized, and long-term discussions were held regarding the establishment and maintenance of general waste final disposal sites. In November 1980, the "Tokyo Metropolis Mitama Region Waste Wide Area Disposal Union" was established, and in April 1984, the Yatosawa Disposal Site in Hinode Town was completed and began operation.
This final disposal site completed its landfill in April 1998, and now, 30 years after its establishment, a biotope has been created, gradually restoring the former natural environment while preserving various plants and animals.
In April 2006, in order to shift from simply landfilling waste to further resource circulation, the Eco-Cement project was initiated, and it was renamed the "Tokyo Tama Wide Area Resource Circulation Association."
I have heard that there has been significant effort from Hinode Town regarding the acceptance of the final disposal site. I feel a responsibility to ensure that this fact is not forgotten and is passed on to the future.
In addition, the Tamagawa Sanitation Association experienced a series of accidents during the fiscal years 2010 to 2011, causing concern and inconvenience to the citizens of the four constituent cities and the residents of Hinode Town. We have established a Committee for Promoting the Prevention of Recurrence of Accidents and are working towards restoring trust by implementing improvements across all aspects of factory operations.
In the past, waste was a topic to be avoided, but it has now become a central issue in current environmental administration. To maintain the beautiful Tama region for the future, let us continue to promote waste reduction and recycling together, learning from the wisdom and efforts of our predecessors.